When you’re behind on mortgage payments and it is putting you in financial trouble, one solution is to short sale your home. In this category of fast home solutions, you are selling your house for less than the existing balance of your mortgage. You will have to do this in collaboration with your lender and they will have to approve any sale. To see if a short sale is your route among fast home solutions, consult these common myths and their actual truths.
- Myth: My credit will be ruined after a short sale.Truth: Your credit score may suffer slightly, but the true impact varies person to person. With so many factors that determine an individual’s credit score, there isn’t an exact formula to know what kind of effect a short sale will have on your credit score. If you’ve never been late on a payment of any bill, then your credit score will decrease slightly but not as much as if you have missed payments in the past. In any case, a short sale will have much less of an impact on your credit score than a foreclosure would.
- Myth: After a short sale I won’t be able to buy another home for several years.Truth: Depending on the circumstances, you could get an FHA loan within three years of the short sale date. To qualify for an FHA loan, you can’t have been more than 30 days late on your mortgage or other installment payments in the year before the short sale date. Prior to the application for the loan, you can’t have been 30 days late on installment and mortgage payments. With a reputable payment history and the right mortgage investor, you’ll be able to buy a new home in just a few years after you sell your house with short sale solutions.
- Myth: I can only short sale my home if I am late on payments.Truth: A short sale is possible under other circumstances that prevent you from keeping your home. Situations such as relocating for a job may qualify you for selling a home through a short sale. The decision depends on your mortgage lender. If you can explain to them in your “hardship letter” why you need fast home solutions like a short sale to sell your home, they could approve it.
The average home in 2016 was sold within four weeks of being listed. While this type of quick sale may not account for all of the matters wrapped up in a short sale, you could be looking at a similarly quick timeline to be rid of your mortgage payments and onto the next phase of your life.
